How do I check and clean an air vent or airbrick?
Finding the ones you have, why blocking them causes damp rather than preventing it, and clearing them safely.
beginner1 hr4 min read
Home & DIY
Practical answers for repairs, cleaning, decorating and the household problems that turn up whether you planned for them or not. Written so you can start with what you already own.
2,154 guides
How do I check my spirit level is accurate?
The reversal test, why the bubble moves twice the error, how to test the plumb vial as well as the horizontal one, and what to do with a level that fails — including which ones can be adjusted.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I check my square is actually square?
The flip test takes thirty seconds, doubles the error so you can see it, and routinely fails cheap squares. What to do with one that fails, and why the fault is invisible on small work.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I check the lead flashing round a chimney?
The four separate flashings around a chimney, what failure looks like from the ground, and how chimney damp shows up inside.
beginner40 min4 min readHow do I choose a loft ladder, and will it fit my hatch?
The hatch decides the ladder, not the other way round. Measuring what you have, the four types and what each one needs, and why enlarging the opening is a bigger job than it looks.
intermediate9 min5 min readHow do I clean a barbecue?
Cleaning grates, burners and the inside of a barbecue, and the wire brush risk worth knowing about.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I clean a vacuum cleaner?
Why a vacuum loses suction, and how to clean the filters, brush bar and hose to get it back.
beginner40 min2 min readHow do I clean and look after a cordless drill?
The five-minute routine that keeps a drill working: vents, chuck, terminals, and the parts that wear.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I clean and repaint fascias and soffits?
Preparing timber and uPVC fascias for coating, the paint systems that survive at eaves level, and knowing when repainting is not the answer.
intermediate8 hr4 min readHow do I clean brickwork without damaging it?
Start with the gentlest method that works, why the pressure washer is almost always the wrong tool, and how to shift mortar splashes, algae and dirt without wrecking the brick face.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I clean or replace a tap aerator?
Getting it off without marking the spout, what the parts are and which way up they go, and the male-versus-female measurement that stops you buying the wrong replacement.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I clean paint brushes and rollers properly?
Getting brushes genuinely clean so they last for years, plus how to keep them usable between coats without washing.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I cut MDF without filling the room with dust?
Why MDF dust is the problem rather than the cutting, and the extraction, masking and cutting sequence that keeps it under control.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I cut a laminate worktop without chipping it?
Cutting from the right face, sealing the exposed core, and the tape-score-support routine that keeps the laminate edge crisp.
intermediate45 min4 min readHow do I cut a paving slab?
Scoring and splitting by hand, the wet-cut disc method, and how to get a clean straight edge on concrete, sandstone and porcelain.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I cut a rebate or a groove with a router?
Three ways to cut a square recess — bearing-guided bit, straight bit and fence, straight bit and clamped guide — and how to choose between them by where the cut has to sit.
intermediate30 min4 min readHow do I cut an expansion gap into a floor that is already down?
Finding every point where a floating floor has been pinched, and trimming the perimeter back without lifting the whole floor.
intermediate3 hr4 min readHow do I cut coving mitres that actually close?
Why coving is cut upside down and back to front, the difference between internal and external cuts, and how to cope with a corner that is not 90 degrees.
intermediate3 hr4 min readHow do I cut laminate flooring without chipping the surface?
Which way up to cut with each tool, the difference a laminate cutter makes, and how to cut the awkward shapes around pipes and door linings.
beginner30 min4 min readHow do I cut vinyl flooring to fit?
The template method for awkward rooms, scribing to a wall, and why you always cut oversized first.
beginner2 hr4 min readHow do I deal with carpet beetles?
It is the larvae that do the damage, and they live where the vacuum does not reach.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I deal with damp in a cellar or basement?
Telling groundwater from condensation, what tanking really involves, and the cheap measures that work first.
intermediate2 hr4 min readHow do I do a feature wall?
Choosing which wall to feature, how to make the transition look deliberate, and the preparation that matters most.
intermediate4 hr2 min readHow do I drain down the cold water system in my house?
The correct order for emptying the cold side, why hot and cold drain differently, and what has to be switched off before you start.
intermediate45 min4 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.
MaterialWorld is in development — GuideHQ covers the practical answers in the meantime.